Well, the four cars (Sarcux, MandaBoo, Mielnicki, and Jray) sitting at the pull-off just up from the overlook, sat there until Killboy came downon his bike, sparking knee pads and all, turned around at the overlook as there were no cars left there, and came back up. He stopped and talked with us for a while. Then we decided to head back to Fontana.

So it looks like we were the last MINIs on the Dragon Saturday Night.

Sure doesn't seem like that many cars passed us, oh well maybe we were all napping at that point.

Steve

 

made it home today...no tickets, nothing unusual.
the weekend was too short!

 

Might not have been that many as I am terribly BAAAAAD at guesstimating that sort of thing but I am pretty sure it was more than 20. Some of them thought the overlook was the end and stopped there but not enough room. They kind of bunched up on the road there in front of the overlook for a bit.
I may be wrong but I think it was before the ambulance came. Seems like someone commented that it wasn't midnight yet.

 

I had driven the Dragon before but not in a MINI. Quite a difference. Had a great time and met a lot of great people. Best of all, made it home safe and sound. Till next time, Motor On, Dan

 

Anyone get a MINI count? Or do we have to wait 'till our Dam photo and count the hard way?Sheri

 

That will only get you the ones that were in the photo. A bunch were preparing for the Chili Cookoff and I was back at the room tallying rally results. I also had a MINI and a Mini there and could only drive one at a time. Maybe someday I will learn to drive two at a time.

 

You have 2 arms and 2 legs! What's your excuse?!?!

 

One head!

I think it's impossible to know the exact MINI/Mini/Counterfeit/PackMule count... though I'd love to know!

Hopefully the Big Damn Picture will give us a clue...

 

I was one who arrived at the Crossroads at approx 11:30 to find out that the accident had already occurred. Much discussion about whether or not the road was open. After 12:00, decided (with others) to head back to the hotel - instead of "getting in the way" on the hill.

[Sounds like the 12 PM start happened much earlier. ]

 

There was no way that 100+ MINIs could all gather at Deal's Gap, sdmidget. They took the MINIs in a few groups, but the communications were sketchy, particularly after reports of the Miata's wreck.

sndwave and I waited at the Crossroads of Time's gas station until after 1 AM, hoping to see the late night MINI parade.....we didn't wait long enough. But we did enjoy the night sky and the gazillion stars!


Clover

 

Got back about noon today. Getting the motorhome out of those mountains with the trailer behind is no fun! But had a great time while there. My thanks to all who had anything to do with getting it to come off as well as it did . I don't know who all was involved except Mark Ferguson and John "Coopie da Clock Keeper" but several people had to have spent a lot of time on it.
Met a bunch of people but reading the posts today made me realize that there were a whole lot more that we didn't meet or even see while there . About the Midnite run some were asking about. I think we got off a mite late from the Village. Did not stop at the Crossroads as planned. I was near the tail end of the group and we were well spaced out. Someone was just putting out some warning lights as I passed the wreck. There were 45 to 50 cars at the gravel lot waiting for the ambulance to come back down the mountain. Don't know how long we were there but it was 2:00 AM when I got back to the campground. I'm probably one of the slowest drivers out there and seeing that wreck slowed me down just a tad more. Boy it was hard to see where the road was going and part of the way someone with a walleyed headlight was behind me. I would be straining to see where the road was and wham that light would hit my mirror and I couldn't see a thing. Did enjoy driving it solo with no co-pilot grunting, groaning, and gasping everytime the tires squealed a little:smile:Looking forward to next time!!

 

I'd like to chip in with my personal applause for the organizers. What a great event. It was two very intense days for me. It was a graduate course on MINIs. The location was fantastic -- the roads were perfect. I'll be back.

 

The Midnight run is a fun and casual run done in the middle of the night. This was never to be at the stroke of midnight 100 plus MINIs take off for Tabcat Bridge together. To break the MINIs up in to smaller groups is the only way to get everyone to the bridge safely. If that means some take off at 20 minutes before midnight then so be it.

I was the very last MINI from Fontana to get to Deals Gap with my job being sure everyone made it along Hwy 28 safely. By the time I got to The Crossroads of Time everyone had left on the run that was going. There were many still there because of the Miata crash news.

I thought it was very responsible and showed great judgment of all the drivers who headed back to Fontana and not participate in the run leaving the road clear for the police and emergency vehicles. I thank all of you who gave up the run and hope next year’s event won’t have the problems of an accident that we had nothing to do with.

I’d also like to thank the few MINI people who set out road markers and assisted the two crash victims.

I missed the run myself so I will be looking forward to next years drive.

 

With half a brain.

Maybe we should start a "Where's MINI?" thread for those who did not make the picture. We can then add the count to the number in the picture.

 

I guess this might have been one point of confusion as the Welcome Guide stated that everyone from Fontana was going to Deal's Gap to meet those from Tapoco and the first car would leave at the stroke of midnight. Not that it matters. We were just confused b/c overall we expected more cars in our original plan. After the accident we didn't expect many but when we asked on the radios, people said that the Midnight Run was still on. When we asked when folks were coming, nobody ever said anything. That's why we were confused. All I know is if the Miata driver was drunk (we kinda think he was) he ought to be charged with interrupting a MINI Midnight Run to! That's got to be some kind of crime, right?!

 

I arrived at the Crossroads around 11:15pm, and there was on there. I had another MINI behind me, but no clue who it was. They continued on up the Dragon while I parked at the Crossroads. Somewhere around 11:30pm a semi-large group of MINIs headed up the Dragon. A few minutes later we had news about the wreck, and the rest of the Midnight group came through. Warnings were given over the radio, but only a couple of responses.


I guess the schedule on the back of the T-Shirt was just for looks eh?

 

As one of the 4 cars that sat at the pulloff a couple bends away from the overlook, I'd say that the midnight run really didn't happen. There were maybe 30 cars that made it to the overlook that then came back down the Dragon in smaller groups. But it was a far cry from the 150 or so cars that signed up. So a few made it, which is great, but the "official" midnight run didn't happen as far as I'm concerned. Ohh well, there's always next year, right? I'm just glad that the Miata driver was (apparently) not seriously injured.

 

Apparently the Miata occupants weren't too bad off. We passed the ambulance on the way back from the Overlook and he was running without his emergency lights or siren.

 

To be honest, I'm not necessarily "relieved" that the Miata driver was OK. If the guy drove drunk, he got what he deserved... at least he has to deal with the fact he totalled his car.

What I AM relieved about is that the Miata driver didn't seriously hurt anyone else, especially his girlfriend in the passenger seat, or someone else coming the other way on the Dragon.

 

[QUOTE=Edge]To be honest, I'm not necessarily "relieved" that the Miata driver was OK. If the guy drove drunk, he got what he deserved... at least he has to deal with the fact he totalled his car.

He was drunk??! I hadn't heard about that. Talk about dangerous....yikes

 

Those of us that were on the scene shortly after the accident (the tree was still in the road) got a sense that he was drunk. Plus, if you looked at the skid marks, they had wondered around the last curve and went straight into the tree. Didn't really look like it he had lost control of the car, rather that he was reacting too slowly to the many turns. Another thing that made us figure he was drunk was their lack of injuries. When you're drunk you don't tend to tense up as you would if sober, so you're able to flop around a bit more without hurting yourself. Some of the cars behind him said that they saw the accident (no MINI's). Fortunately, no one else was in front of him during this

If he was drunk, I also hope that there was still enough alcohol in his system by the time the cops got there for him to fail a sobriety test, since it took over an hour for them to get there

 

The folks I spoke with that came back to the Crossroads to warn the Midnight'ers indicated he was just getting out of the vehicle, and they saw and smelt beer. Also a "beer mug" under the seat.

 

Yeah, I remember the guys in the group that helped move the tree said they saw a beer glass in the floor, but who drinks beer in the car from a glass? Uppity drunks

 

Bear, Thanx for the ride on the midnight run again. it was a blast except for that whole miata thing. that wasnt kewl. cant wait for next year when hopefully i have my own MINI for the run. although my moms neon that i brought this year actually did pretty good when i put it thru it's paces... eventhough mom was freakin' out cause it's her new car. but what the H**l ya know, you only live once.

 

Moms will prove that differently as life goes on. Love them while you have them and they may teach you something.